I spent five years at Forbes writing about business and leadership, attracting nearly one million unique visitors to Forbes.com each month. While here, I assistant edited the annual World’s 100 Most Powerful Women package and helped launch and grow ForbesWoman.com. I've appeared on CBS, CNBC, MSNBC and E Entertainment and speak often at conferences and events on women's leadership topics. I graduated summa cum laude from New York University with degrees in journalism and sociology and was honored with a best in business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) in 2012. My work has appeared in Businessweek, Ladies’ Home Journal, The Aesthete and Acura Style. I live in New York City with my husband and can be found on Twitter @Jenna_Goudreau, Facebook, and Google+.

Top Seven Ways To C'Mon Get Happy

Manoj Singh, a rickshaw driver living in the slums of Kolkata, India, calls himself happy and his life good. His makeshift, one-room home protected by a plastic tarp may be a struggle during monsoon season but is otherwise wonderful because it has a window and nice airflow. His neighbors are his friends. His son, who waits for him to return home each day, and his baby daughter’s face regularly fill him with joy. “I feel that I am not poor because I am the richest person,” he says. “Sometimes we eat only rice with salt, but still we are happy.”

Singh’s story is the opening of new documentary Happy, which explores the science of happiness and its prevalence across cultures. Director Roko Belic shot over 400 hours of footage all over the world—from the swamps of Louisiana to co-ops in Denmark and the streets of Japan—to explore what really makes people happy. The film has won numerous awards in nations like Mexico, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and the U.S., and tomorrow it will screen in 200 cities in 30 countries for an effort the producers have dubbed World Happy Day.

Six years in the making, the film is full of insight from happiness researchers, positive psychologists and real people from every demographic, all asking the question: What lies at the core of a human being’s happiness? I spoke with Belic to find out what he learned.

Practice Happiness

Scientists believe that 50% of our happiness is controlled by our genes, which is known as the happiness set point. Meanwhile, just 10% is based on the circumstances of our lives: status, money, career and the objects we surround ourselves with. The remaining 40% is believed to be subject to intentional behavior and choices. “When I started this, I thought 95% was genetic—you’re either born grumpy or finding the silver lining,” says Belic. “I know now that happiness is within our control. That’s inspiring.” Think of happiness like any other skill that can be developed.

Keep Moving

If happiness is intentional, you’ll have more if you, quite literally, exercise it. “Physical exercise is like medicine,” says Belic. The movie follows several people who’ve discovered the happiness chemical induced by physical activity. Tanned and toned, one man gushes that surfing keeps him young, while a middle-aged woman says she gardens because she loves to sweat. Moreover, losing yourself in an activity or hobby that gives you great joy, something psychologists have called “flow,” boosts happiness and fulfillment.

Invest In Your Community

Having a sense of community and positive social relationships may be one of the best influencers of happiness. Belic takes viewers to the island of Okinawa, Japan, home to the largest concentration of centenarians per capita in the world. A chipper 106-year-old woman explains that in their community they work hard, all look after the children, get together frequently with peers to talk and gather cross-generationally to listen and dance to the island’s one musical group. The mantra in Okinawa: We’re here for each other.

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I’ve been reading, “Healthy at 100,” which details the centenarians in Okinawa as well as centenarians in the Caucus Mountains, (the Abkhasians), Pakistan (the Hunzas) and Central American (the Vilcabambans). Each of these cultures center around building quality relationships with others in their community, on top of diets rich in fresh produce and grains (mostly vegan–between 1-10% animal products). I’ve moved over 26 times due to growing up with parents in the military, being in the military myself, and now moving because my husband is still in the military. With that being said–I find the quicker I can settle us into each community we move to, giving back, helping others out, and accepting their wisdom, guidance, and help in return–the happier everyone in my family is–our stress levels go down, and we quickly adjust to the new part (or foreign) country we currently reside.

I am passionate about sharing how to build up resiliency life skills (think emotional intelligence and gender intelligence), BECAUSE as a nomad, I see the affects all to often of the majority of the people around me not stepping out and embracing the rich, vibrant networks within their communities.

On a personal level, and then as a marriage educator and life coach with a background in counseling…relationships and are happiness with those we have surrounding us is what matters at the end of the day, and at the end of our lives. So inspiring–thanks Jenna–for another thought-provoking article. I can’t wait to see this film–it’s being added to my list, and I’ll be sharing your article with my circle. Inspiring!

Now, off to Zumba so I can dance and laugh the stress of settling into a new home away!

I don’t believe that we are taught to prioritize the wrong goals; it is that we are not taught to appreciate what we have.

Ambition fuels our society and it works – just look at our material success.

We are taught to strive and boy do we strive – Americans are among the longest working people in the first world.

But we are not taught to feel good about what we accomplish.

Go to any yacht basin. That is among the greatest concentration of expensive toys that is accessible to any of us. The fellow on the 40 footer is casting covetous eyes at the 50 footer who is casting…

And the fellow with the 40 footer has achieved a great prize; a boat that more that meets any reasonable need and should bring him great pleasure. More, it is a toy, not a necessity. But he doesn’t realize that he should be happy.

The acquisitive instinct is still driving him, preventing him from being happy.

The greatest gift anybody can have is an “off” switch on our ambition (and the self confidence to know when to use it).

‘I’ll be happy when….’ is the way many people think they are living their lives. Yet, happiness is not something that happens to you. Happiness is inside you now. You are motivated from within. You only have to allow happiness to surface.

That’s the formula for happiness–know yourself, your true calling and that you get what you tolerate.

Only when you know your innate signature talents, your values, assumptions/beliefs, guiding principles, vision and passions are you able to bring your true self to your professional and personal lives.

In medicine, you look at how ‘well tolerated’ a drug will be related to its side effects. At work and at home, many people evaluate new opportunities related to what can be well tolerated.

Yet after life, most people don’t want their tombstone to read, ‘She tolerated stuff for other people because they paid her.’

Especially, when we realize that we can make more money and have more fun doing work that engages our passions. Life is too short for doing work you don’t enjoy for people you don’t respect.